No children injured in fire

No children were hurt or threatened in the fire, said Craig Howard, High Plains Children's Home executive director. About 40 boys and girls live at the home and reside in cottages that house eight children.

"All the children are completely safe," he said. "There was never any immediate danger due the size of the campus. You could put 10 football fields between the house that burned and where the kids live."

The home that was destroyed sat south of the administration building on the 100-acre campus at 11461 S. Western St. The children's cottages sit more than a quarter mile to the east of the administration building.

"There were four individuals in the home," Howard said. "Everyone is safe."

The building's residents are members of the children's home staff.

The home was a total loss, he said.

"The home is insured," Howard said. "Personal things are a total loss."

The Randall County Sheriff's Office, the Randall County Fire Department, the Canyon Fire Department and the Amarillo Fire Department all responded to the blaze that began about 1 a.m.

"They battled the fire until about 3 a.m. and they left around 4 a.m.," Howard said. "It rekindled about 7 a.m. and they left again about 11 a.m. They were out here trying to fight this thing in the bitter cold."

Fire fighters had difficulty with the blaze because of the cold temperatures, which caused hydraulic valves on their equipment and water lines to freeze, fire officials said.

The cause of the fire was undetermined Saturday, but it likely started in the chimney, said Dickey Durr of the Randall County Fire Department.